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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721766">Intergalactic Coffee Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunlitroses/pseuds/sunlitroses'>sunlitroses</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Voyager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Can also be completely platonic, Gen, If You Squint - Freeform, Minor Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:21:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,635</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunlitroses/pseuds/sunlitroses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Intergalactic Coffee Day,” Chakotay repeated solemnly, with a nod. “I checked with the ship’s database, it really is a Federation holiday. Not an often celebrated or very official one, but it is genuine.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chakotay &amp; B'Elanna Torres, Chakotay &amp; Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay &amp; Neelix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Intergalactic Coffee Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is entirely the fault of CaptainCoffee, whose tumblr both told me it was National Coffee Day and had a gif of the true Voyager OTP: Kathryn Janeway/coffee.</p>
<p>Please enjoy this National Coffee Day story that somehow managed not to actually contain one cup of coffee and kind of turned into Mock Chakotay for Not Being a Morning Person Day.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Did you know about this?”</p>
<p>Chakotay narrowly avoided jumping out of his own skin at the Talaxian voice unexpectedly far too close to his ear.</p>
<p>“Neelix,” he placed a hand to his chest, heart thudding as though prepared to take on an entire phalanx of Cardassians. “Could I have a little warning next time, please?”</p>
<p>“My apologies, Commander.” Even his facial hair seemed to droop as he backed up to the human-preferred distance for social interactions. “But this is such wonderful news, I couldn’t wait to share it with you! It’s so convenient that I ran into you.”</p>
<p>“What news is that?” Resigning himself to the inevitable conversation, Chakotay motioned Neelix down the corridor. The Talaxian fell into step beside him and began happily bubbling over with some idea that he could only catch about one word in five, this early before breakfast. It took fuel and a good night’s sleep to keep up with Neelix’s energy.</p>
<p>As they neared the mess hall, he cut through the chatter. “So you want to make a coffee tart? I’m not sure why anyone would have a problem with that.”</p>
<p>“Not just a tart, my good sir! A whole meal. It’s such a wonderful holiday, I can’t believe that no one told me about it before,” he seemed prepared to continue on the subject, so Chakotay broke in once more.</p>
<p>“What holiday is this? Forgive me, I must have missed it.” Stopping just outside the range of the sensors for the mess hall door, he placed his hands on his hips briefly, then dropped them. He’d been spending too much time with Kathryn if he was beginning to mimic her interrogation pose.</p>
<p>“Intergalactic Coffee Day!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Intergalactic Coffee Day?” B’Elanna’s voice was just as skeptical as his had been earlier, confronted at 0500 with an ebullient Talaxian.</p>
<p>“Intergalactic Coffee Day,” he repeated solemnly, with a nod. “I checked with the ship’s database, it really is a Federation holiday. Not an often celebrated or very official one, but it is genuine.”</p>
<p>The engineer shook her head and took a sip of her cup of Neelix’s Better-Than-Coffee that they were commiserating over on a break between the Engineering Division’s quarterly personnel reviews.</p>
<p>“Sounds more like one of Tom’s jokes,” she said, pulling a PADD over to squint at disdainfully.</p>
<p>He chuckled. “That was my first thought, too, hence the database. But Neelix assures me he heard it from Mike, not Paris.”</p>
<p>“Ayala? That’s not altogether reassuring, either, but probably a safer bet. What’d the Captain have to say about it?” B’Elanna’s eyes danced over the rim of her cup as Chakotay lowered his head into his hand with a sigh. “What, it can’t be that bad? This has to be her favorite holiday or something?”</p>
<p>“Somehow,” Chakotay suspected that the early hours had been the ‘somehow,’ with a lack of both breakfast and full command of his faculties, but there was no need for that little detail, “I have been persuaded to let it be,” he paused deliberately before uttering a clearly quoted phrase, “a ‘delightful surprise.’”</p>
<p>“Caught you before your morning tea, huh?” B’Elanna looked sympathetic in response to his glare. “What? We know how you are – there used to be a bet about what we could get you to agree to, back in the Maquis. Come to think of it, Tuvok’s the one who made us stop, after Chell got you to sing Happy Birthday to Garrett over the comms.”</p>
<p>“Glad to know he had my back in something back then,” he grumbled for appearance’s sake, but the sting had gone out of that betrayal at last.</p>
<p>“Actually, I think he said that forcing everyone to suffer went past the parameters of the bet, and it would be logical to shut it down as no one could really qualify as a winner when we had all just lost.”</p>
<p>Even bent over in laughter, B’Elanna still had fast enough reflexes to avoid a PADD thrown at her head, which was probably just as well for Chakotay’s continuing survival.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Chakotay watched as his Captain paced from one side of her quarters to the other again, and hid a smile behind his hand.</p>
<p>“This is why I stopped after the second cup,” he remarked calmly, once back under control, and then had to hide his face again behind his cup of decidedly non-caffeinated tea at her withering look.</p>
<p>“Please,” she waved a hand in his direction, “I could drink a pot of coffee and sleep like a top.” She sighed, paused next to the window, and ran a hand over her forehead. “However, I don’t know precisely what he put into that dessert. It was remarkably – crunchy. I wouldn’t swear that it wasn’t straight coffee grounds and I’ll admit… it’s got me a bit wired.” Kathryn dropped her hand and looked over at him, eyes wide, and Chakotay steeled himself. With that look there was pretty much nothing he wouldn’t do for her – and he had a sneaking suspicion that she was well aware of the fact.</p>
<p>“You said that you would tell me later how Neelix managed to convince you to celebrate ‘Coffee Day’ and,” her voice dropped as her eyebrow raised, “keep it a secret from me.”</p>
<p>Somewhere, deep in the wonderfully complicated mind of Kathryn Janeway, he just knew there was a homing beacon for any story that might embarrass him. It was an uncanny ability.</p>
<p>“I believe that Neelix phrased it as a ‘delightful surprise,’” he deflected with a sip of his tea.</p>
<p>The eyebrow dropped as her hands raised to her hips, and she paced back towards him. Interrogation mode and enough caffeine in her system that she was practically vibrating? He didn’t stand a chance. That didn’t mean he had to make it easy on her, though.</p>
<p>“Commander,” she said, stopping at the side of the table.</p>
<p>“Captain,” he replied, and tipped his cup at her.</p>
<p>Tilting her head, and seemingly unable to stop her fingers from tapping on her hips, Kathryn gave him the sort of intense stare that left his heart beat racing and a distant fear that he might actually dent the cup he held.</p>
<p>“Ah,” she nodded seriously, before a crooked grin stole across her face. “Got to you early in the morning, did he?”</p>
<p>Mid-sip to avoid her discerning gaze, he choked. Several enthusiastic blows to his back from one over-caffeinated Captain later, he glared up at her with eyes threatening to stream and managed to rasp accusingly, “You’ve been talking with B’Elanna.”</p>
<p>That actually got a full belly laugh, and it was worth the burning in his windpipe and the stinging of his eyes to hear her sound completely happy for once.</p>
<p>“I haven’t, I swear,” she held both hands up in front of her as a gesture of peace. “I’ve hardly needed to with the times we’ve been called to the Bridge early. For anything less than a red alert, I’m fairly certain you’re on auto-pilot.” He glanced over at her through cleared eyes and she grinned, which took any hint of censure out of the remark. Sighing out the last of her laugh, Kathryn pulled herself to her feet once more and all but bounded over to the stack of PADDs lying on the end table. “Didn’t we have plans to go through reports?” she asked over her shoulder, picking up the top two PADDs and performing some sort of two step to make it around the corner of the table and begin another circuit of her quarters.</p>
<p>Chakotay sighed. Neelix’s celebration had managed, for once, to actually be a ‘delightful surprise.’ Despite the somewhat questionable culinary experience, everyone had enjoyed the chance to help with an event that was bound to make the Captain happy, tease her a little, and put the stress of the last few weeks out of mind. They had also all been extremely caffeinated, so that probably didn’t hurt. He honestly wasn’t certain if Kathryn was energized due to all the coffee or from the high spirits of her crew. However, no good deed goes unpunished.</p>
<p>“Come on,” he said, rising to pull the PADDs from her hand and return them to the stack. “Get changed and I’ll meet you on Holodeck 2 in ten minutes.”</p>
<p>“What?” she went absolutely still for the first time since the third course, which involved coffee-stuffed peppers. “Chakotay…”</p>
<p>He shook his head to interrupt whatever excuse she was about to make. “Could you even sit still long enough to read a paragraph?” Despite it running counter to his efforts, he couldn’t help but smile as she squared her shoulders as though he had issued a challenge. “Neither of us could,” he amended, “so let’s go burn off this caffeine high before our nervous systems collapse of exhaustion.”</p>
<p>“You, Mr. Keep calm and drink tea? Prepare to wish you’d had more to keep up.” Since she threw the sally over her shoulder while heading towards her bedroom, he didn’t take it too much to heart.</p>
<p>“Some of us know our limits,” he teased back, “but I did have the leola root pasta in coffee sauce.”</p>
<p>Kathryn peeked back around the door frame. “I think I managed to miss that one.” Her face spoke volumes about her gratitude on that fact.</p>
<p>He shrugged and set his cup in the recycler before heading to the door to change in his own quarters. “It tasted less like leola root than usual, so it had that going for it.”</p>
<p>“And not much else?” Her voice rose as she disappeared from view again.</p>
<p>“And pretty much nothing else,” he called back. Her light laughter fallowed him out into the corridor and he strode towards his quarters with a smile.</p>
<p>Intergalactic Coffee Day?</p>
<p>They might just have to make this one a yearly tradition.</p>
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